Starting a new perio exam
Go to the patients 'Perio' tab at the top of the patient's record.
The most recent exam will be displayed when you enter this screen if there is one.
Select '+ New exam' in the top right.
You can choose to create a blank exam or clone the previous one.
Cloning will carry forward the recordings taken on the previous exam into a new exam dated for today.
This is useful to record only slight changes to improvements or regressions in a patient's period health or particularly useful when only a partial exam was conducted previously.
Recording a perio exam
You can set your preferred workflow using the 'Settings' ⚙️ at the top of the perio screen. You can configure:
Which arch you start with, and the direction you chart.
If the perio chart should progress automatically to the next tooth or manually via the 'Tab' key.
Should a patient require a digit higher than 9, simply press 'd' on the keyboard to record a double-digit while typing the number - for example, press 'd' and then 2 to record a 12.
📝 Please note: If the dentition in the perio chart or odontogram doesn’t look correct, first check that the patient’s tooth history has been charted accurately and that the tooth status settings are correct. If the issue continues, please contact us via support chat.
Recording CAL (Clinical Attachment Level)
When both recession and pocket depth values are entered for a tooth during a perio exam, the CAL score will automatically calculated as: CAL = recession + pocket depth
CAL scores appear directly beneath the recession value once a perio exam is saved.
These values are read-only - you cannot edit them manually.
Hovering over the CAL label in the perio chart will display the full text: Clinical Attachment Level.
CAL values are included in the Perio chart printout
In comparison charts, CAL values are shown alongside previous results as normal.
Recording bleeding, suppuration & mobility
Recordings of bleeding, suppuration, furcation and mobility can be made using your keyboard while the typing cursor is in the correct position on the perio chart:
Press 'b' to record bleeding
Press 's' to record suppuration
Press 'f' to record furcation
Repeated presses will cycle through furcation grades 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Press 'm' to record mobility
Repeated presses will cycle through mobility stages 1–3
With all of the above, pressing the key again after the last stage will remove the recording.
You can also use your mouse to record these values by clicking the corresponding point on the table beneath the graphical chart for each of the desired inputs.
As with the keyboard input, multiple clicks of the mouse will cycle through the stages as per above instructions for keystrokes and clicking again after the last stage will clear the recording.
Pocket depth highlighting
During a periodontal exam, Dentally visually highlights pocket depths of 4 mm or greater to help you quickly identify areas of concern.
When a pocket depth value of 4 mm or more is entered, the value is shown with a red underline.
This visual indicator draws attention to potential signs of gingivitis or early periodontitis.
The highlighting is a visual aid only and does not change the recorded clinical data.
Charting plaque & bleeding
Press the 'Plaque & Bleeding' tab at the top of the exam.
By clicking on either ‘Bleeding’ or ‘Plaque’, you can add a label to a tooth surface. This will then turn the surface:
red for bleeding’
yellow for plaque,
or orange if both bleeding and plaque have been added,
As you continue to chart, the percentages of available surfaces where bleeding, plaque or both is present will be calculated and shown at the top of the chart.
Renaming the exam
Once an exam is saved, it will be named with today's date and the initials of the logged-in clinician who recorded it.
If you wish to rename an exam with a specific name to help you find it later, you can do this by clicking the edit button by the exam name.
Editing a perio exam
Once saved, a Perio exam can be edited for up to 24 hours after pressing the Save option.